


Voltron Omegaverse

by Minou_Noir



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha Shiro (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Beta Pidge | Katie Holt, Omega Lance (Voltron), Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minou_Noir/pseuds/Minou_Noir
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

Keith was walking towards Garrison High. He wasn't excited to go at all. His caretaker had to dump a bucket of water on him just to get him out of bed this morning. All Keith wanted to do was die so he could join his father. Keith had given up trying to find his mother a long time ago and since then, he'd been building walls to keep people away. He learned the hard way what happened when you got attached to people.

When he was halfway there, the playlist he was listening to started playing a song that he felt described him perfectly. He hummed quietly to the song he only knew too well. As it continued, Keith felt tears come to his eyes but he refused to let them fall. He pushed them back and continued his walk. He wasn't prepared for the shove that sent him falling to the ground.

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~** _

"Oh no! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" A Cuban teenage male sprang up from the floor, remembering today was his first day at his new school. He rushed to a box that was in the corner of his new room that held some of his clothes. He pulled out some blue jeans, a gray shirt, and and a jacket he treasured more than his life. When he finished changing, he brushed his messy hair into place, brushed his teeth, and ran downstairs. "Bye Veronica! See you later!" he yelled as he grabbed his backpack from the couch.

"What about breakfast? Aren't you going to eat?"

"No time! Sorry, gotta go! Bye!"

Right before he shut the door to his house, he heard the farewell of his family. "See you later Lance!"

_I'm gonna be late and it's my first day at Garrison High!_ Not paying attention to his surroundings, Lance bumped into a short, pale skinned teenager that had a mullet. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Lance tried to help him back to his feet but got his hand slapped away.

"Watch where you're going idiot!" the guy yelled as he got up.

"Look, I'm sorry! I'm late for school and it's my first day here and my sister's gonna kill me 'cause I didn't grab my lunch and now‒"

"Hey, I don't care about your personal life. Just leave me alone!"

Lance looked at the kid he bumped into. "What's your name?" he asked without thinking. 

"Why do you wanna know? I told you to leave me alone!"

"Yeah, I know what you said. But you're the first person I've met since moving here and no matter how tough you may act, you wouldn't let a new kid get beat up by some football idiots." 

The short teenager just blinked at him. "Look, just leave me alone and you won't get hurt. And stay away from the jocks, they'll beat up anybody as long as the teachers aren't around. That is, if you're going to Garrison High, which I assume you are because it's the only high school around here."

"Hey, you're pretty smart!" 

"Yeah? Then if I'm smart, listen to me and just stay away unless you want a broken bone." With that, the grey-eyed teen turned and walked away. 

_Wow. I feel so welcomed,_ Lance thought with a roll of his eyes. He decided that if the short dude was going to be all moody about it, then he'd just leave him alone. Lance crossed the street so he could start running to school again without bumping into Mr. Mullet.

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~** _

"Hey, are you new here?" 

Lance turned around to see a dark skinned, chubby guy with an orange bandana and a short girl with short hair and glasses. 

"Uh, yeah." 

"Hi my name is—" 

"Leave him alone, Hunk!" The little girl pushed away who Lance assumed to be Hunk and stuck her hand out for him to shake.

"Hi! My name is Katie but everyone calls me Pidge. The chunk of fat over there is Hunk, my best friend." She pointed at Hunk with an amused smile. He was looking through his lunch to see if his mother packed his favorite dish.

Lance was about to warn her about some random guy that was sneaking up on her but at the last second, she turned around and flipped the guy onto his back. "And this guy here is my older brother, Matt." The guy awkwardly waved at Lance before looking at his sister. 

"Do you think you could let me go yet Pidge?" Matt asked her. Pidge hesitated before finally letting her brother go. 

"When will you realize that you can't sneak up on me anymore Matt?" 

"Maybe you have to break his arm first," Hunk said as he came back to the group. All of a sudden, the three of them were arguing about when Matt would learn his lesson and stop trying to sneak up on Pidge.

_These people are crazy!_ Lance scooted his way away from the friends until he was sure that they couldn't see him anymore before he sprinted to the principal's office to get his schedule. When he finally found it, he knocked twice before being granted permission to enter. Upon entering, he saw the same guy he had bumped into this morning. 

"Let me guess. You need a tardy slip?" the principal asked. 

"U-um, tardy slip?" 

The principal rolled his eyes before responding. "The morning bell rang 15 minutes ago." 

"Really? Well, I actually just came here to get my schedule and locker number. I'm new here," Lance explained. 

"Oh really? What's your name then?" 

"Lance McClain."

"Perfect! Here you go Mr. McClain. You have the same schedule as Keith here so he can go ahead and give you a tour of the school and show you where your classes will be!" 

Keith stood up and slammed his hands on the principal's desk. "Principal Sanda! You've got to be kidding me! So instead of getting suspended I have to show him around?!" 

"Keith Kogane!" Now the principal was standing up. "You will follow directions and show Mr. McClain around the school! May I remind you that the only reason you're here is because Shiro vouched for you?"

"That's okay Principal Sanda! I'm sure I can find my way around the school! I met some kids on the way here that would be more than happy to show me around!" Lance intervened. Keith looked like all he wanted to do was punch the wall and for some reason, Lance didn't want him to get in trouble. Keith glanced back at Lance, curiosity flashing in them for a second before his gaze hardened. 

"No, Lance. Keith needs to learn his lesson. For 2 weeks, Keith will be your guide around the school and he will answer any questions you have." Her tone was inviting no more argument so Lance just stuffed his hands in his pockets, looked down, and nodded.

_This will be a long 2 weeks then._


	2. Chapter 2

Keith stormed out of Principal Sanda's office, leaving Lance to hurry after him. Lance didn't say anything and Keith couldn't be more grateful for the silence. He was tempted to lead Lance to the wrong room but decided not to when he remembered he would get suspended, if not, expelled. Keith let out a sigh. 

"Give me your schedule," he growled at Lance. The Cuban boy hurriedly fished the piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to the shorter boy, pulling away quickly when their fingers brushed. Keith inspected the paper and inwardly groaned. _He really does have all my classes!_ He gave back the schedule and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his ripped black jeans.

"So we have classes together?" Lance asked the mullet-head. Keith glanced at the tall boy and saw he was looking at him. 

"All of them," he answered before turning away again. 

"You don't talk much, do you?" 

"If you want some broken bones than I'll talk to you all you want. If you don't, stay at least 10 feet away and don't talk to me." 

"Why would I get broken bones?" Lance asked. 

Keith chuckled darkly. "You don't want to find out." Keith felt Lance's blue gaze on him for a moment more before he looked away.

"We're here," he finally announced. "Go in and when the teacher asks you why you were late, tell him that you're new and that you got lost," Keith instructed the taller boy. 

"What about you?" 

"I'll come in in about 10-15 minutes." Keith knew Lance would ask him why but when he have him a look, Lance nodded and opened the classroom door while Keith leaned against the wall. He waited for a solid 15 minutes before walking in.

"Mr. Kogane, how nice of you to join us 35 minutes late! I don't suppose you have a tardy slip?" Keith had heard this greeting from teachers so many times that he stopped bothering to answer. He just shrugged and went to the very back of the class to get to his seat, ignoring Lance's gaze. The teacher grumbled something incoherently before continuing the lesson.

**_Time Skip to Lunch cuz no one cares about school_ **

Keith gathered his things and waited as the rest of the students filed out of the room. He had expected to walk alone to the cafeteria so he was surprised to hear a voice call out to him. 

"Hey Keith! Wait up!" 

Keith stopped walking and faced the ceiling with a groan before turning around. The tall figure of Lance came to a skidding halt 2 feet away from Keith. "What do you want, idiot?" 

"To sit with you. The only other people I know are crazy nerds and I don't want to sit them!" 

Keith let out a snort. "You mean the midget and the big guy? Those are the nerds of the school. You'd fit in great!" He turned and continued to make his way to the lunch room.

Keith felt a hand reach out to him so he instinctively turned, grabbed the hand, and flipped the person into their back. 

"Oof!" 

"I told you to stay away from me, Lance! I also told you 10 feet away unless you want some broken bones." 

"I know, I know. But please! I don't want to eat with Pigeon and Chunk!" Lance pleaded. 

"Pigeon and Chunk?"

"It was something like that. I don't remember their names." 

"You mean Pidge and Hunk. And her brother, Matt." 

"How do you know their names?"

Keith looked away. "It doesn't matter. If you want to sit with me that bad then get off your butt." With that, he walked away.

When they arrived and got their food, they found a table far away from other students. Lance started telling Keith about himself and cracked some horrible jokes that Keith rolled his eyes at. The walls that had shut everyone out of Keith's life started lowering, all because of Lance. 

"Hey, new kid!" 

Keith frowned when he heard Pidge's voice. He got up and muttered, "I'll leave you guys to talk," before throwing away the rest of his food and ignoring Lance's protests. 

Right before he left he heard Matt's voice asking, "Why were you talking to the emo loner?"

Keith went outside and looked up at the gray clouds that filled the sky. He wondered if he should go back inside to avoid getting wet but decided against it. _I'll get wet, so what? It's not like I'm going to die, no matter how much I want to._ He had only taken a few steps when it started raining. The rain came down harder and the thunder was so loud, his ears still rang with the sound minutes after it thundered. Keith was terrified of thunder so he started running.

Not looking where he was going, Keith ran right into the path of a speeding car. Keith hadn't noticed until the last second. Just before the car hit him, Keith felt himself being pulled back onto the sidewalk by a strong person. 

"Keith? Keith!" The short boy faintly heard the worried voice of Lance and although his vision was blurry, he could tell the taller boy was leaning over him. Keith was about to say something when everything went black and he drifted into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

"Achoo!" 

Lance looked up from the soup he was preparing. "Hey! You're awake! You had me worried!" He went over to the couch in the room and knelt in front in front of the boy that was gazing across the room, confused as to how he got here. "How are you feeling, Keith?" Lance asked as he put the back of his hand against said boy's forehead. 

The shorter boy just shrugged. "Alive, I guess." Then a fierce fire suddenly glowed in his eyes as he remembered what had happened. "What did you bring me here for?! Just go back to your little friends and forget I ever existed!"

Lance was startled and didn't know what to say.

"You should have left me there to die! It's not like anyone would have cared if—" 

"Shiro, the guy that's keeping you from being expelled from school, and I would have cared. The world would have cared, even if they don't know it yet, they would," the taller boy interrupted. Lance got up and faced the confused teen. "You see Keith, I've been looking for 3 special people ever since I knew Shiro. You are one of them and the other 2 are in that school. It's the only reason I'm here. And I didn't leave you there to die just because the world depends on it, because I actually consider you as a friend." 

"Friend? You don't know the slightest thing about me! And how would the world depend on me living?"

"But I know lots about you. And you're one of the last 5 shape-shifters in the universe. You eat less than what's good for you, you're hurting emotionally and physically, and you were actually nice once. You started shutting people out when your parents, or who ever cares for you now, started abusing you, even if it hurt you to do so." Keith looked at Lance and Lance recognized the guarded look on his face. 

"How do you know that?" he growled at the taller boy. The Cuban took a step back at the the tone of voice Keith used. 

"When you left during lunch, you dumped your barely eaten burger. And when I carried you, you were very light and I could almost feel your bones against me. Also, your cheeks are hollowed out." Lance breathed before continuing. "When I bumped into you this morning, you had a pained expression on your face and bags under your eyes. You were also listening to 'Welcome to My Life,' a very depressing song if I remember correctly." Lance had to do everything in his power not to flinch away and hide in a corner at Keith's expression of rage. The shorter boy took slow steps towards the taller one and grabbed a fistful of Lance's jacket, yanking him down to his level. 

"You know nothing about me," he growled before releasing Lance and storming out of the house. 

_Shiro's going to kill me when he finds out I let him get away!_ Lance thought as the door slammed shut.

**_~Next Day~_ **

Lance took a different route to school the next day, not wanting to bump into Keith. He walked, thinking about how he ruined all chances of getting close to Keith and bringing him back to Shiro. Lance really did want to be friends with Keith but he ruined the chances of a close relationship. _But I've still got to teach him._ Changing into a wolf, Lance made his way to the path he had taken to school the day before. Sniffing around the sidewalk, Lance found Keith's scent but it was stale from the day before. Sitting down, he carefully thought about the different paths Keith could have taken to school.

All of a sudden, with his heightened senses, he heard some music from somewhere in the forest next to him. Spotting a black mullet between the trees and bushes let Lance know where Keith was and the where the best place to intercept him was. _Well, here goes everything._ Lance only needed 5 bounds to reach the intercepting point. Lance looked down the path in the direction Keith was coming from. The shorter boy wasn't paying attention and would have walked right into Lance if the he hadn't let out a bark. Keith looked up from his phone and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Lance standing there.

He tried to inch away when Lance moved closer but stumbled and fell, bracing himself to be met with the forest floor. Lance slipped under the boy before he hit the ground, letting out a whimper when he was almost crushed to the floor. Almost. Keith was so light that Lance could support his weight even in his wolf form. He grumbled something before slowly making his way out from under the mullet-head. Keith must have heard him because when Lance circled around until he was in front of the boy, his eyes were as wide as saucers. 

"D-did you j-just talk?" he asked nervously. 

"No, I grumbled. But now I am." Keith's eyes widened more than Lance thought was possible.

"H-how is this possible?" 

"You would have know this yesterday, Keith, but you decided to storm out of the house!" Lance felt a sudden surge of confidence in his wolf form and challenged Keith. 

"How do you know my name? I've never seen you before." Lance fixed him with his ocean blue stare as he transformed back to his human form. 

"Really? You've never seen me in your life?"

"H-how? Wh-what? D-did you just-?" Lance shut him up with a growl. 

"That's better. Now you'll actually listen to me. I'm Lance MClain, one of the last five shape shifters in the universe. I speak many different languages but I'm from Cuba." Lance let out an impatient sigh when Keith only stared at him blankly.

"Fine. If you don't have anything to say, I'll take you straight to Shiro." 


	4. Chapter 4

Lance pulled Keith to his feet before turning into a horse. "Get on my back and hang tight," he instructed.

"But I have to get to school!" Keith protested. "The bell rings in 10 minutes and I've still got a long way to go!"

"Geez, I didn't know you valued your education."

"I don't but if I mess up one more time, I get expelled and my foster family would get incredibly mad and— I've said too much."

"Foster family?" Lance asked, partly to himself.

"Don't you dare tell anyone! You're the only person that knows!"

"Trust me, I don't care about spilling your secrets. So unless you want to be late, get expelled, and get abused by those foster parents of yours, I suggest you shut up and get on!"

Lance reared onto his hind legs after Keith climbed onto his back before galloping to Garrison High. After a lot of running and leaping over ditches and fallen trees in the forest, Lance came to a stop at the edge of the tree line, making him stand somewhere behind or to the side of the school.

"Which entrance is the closest to first period?" Lance hurriedly asked the boy on his back.

"West entrance," Keith answered dizzily.

Without hesitation, Lance lurched forward again and ran to the other side of the school, telling Keith to jump off so he could de-transform when they were near enough. Keith finally jumped off as they turned the last corner. As soon as Lance didn't feel the extra weight on him, he changed back to his human form, still running. He glanced back to make sure the smaller boy was on his feet and moving.

"Hurry up! We've got 5 minutes before the bell rings!"

They burst through the school doors and ran up the staircase to their class.

"We're not late!" they yelled at the same time when they burst through the classroom door. The bell rang as the class turned their attention to them. Rushing in at the same time made Keith and Lance trip over each other and fall to the ground. Their faces flushed in embarrassment when they realized the class was watching and laughing at them.

"If you've quite finished," the teacher said, making the laughing students shut up, "I've got a class to teach! Go sit down!"

The two boys quickly got up and gathered their scattered belongings before they made their way to their respective seats.

"Now as I was saying before being interrupted, I am assigning the class a project. The project will be about shape-shifters or magical creatures. I have already chosen the partners and they are on the board."

Looking at the board, Lance skimmed over the names to find his own. _There it is! I'm paired with..._

**_~~~_ **

"Sir, I think you've got the names mixed up! It says I'm partners with Lance," someone blurted when they found their name.

The teacher reviewed the board behind him. "Ah, yes. My apologies, you are correct. I must have your name down twice. You are paired with Kinkade. It seems Mr. McClain is partnerless, then."

"Actually, I don't have a partner either," a certain mullet-head spoke up.

"Then pair up! I don't have all day!"

Once everyone had found their partners, they sat next to them. The Texan **_(I think)_** gathered his things slowly, not caring at the moment if he got in trouble. When Keith sat next to Lance, Lance scooted over to give him some room.

"Now that I can finally speak without being interrupted, your projects have to be very detailed with no false facts..." Keith didn't listen to the rest.

Letting his eyes wander around the room, Keith took in every little detail in hopes of finding something interesting. With no luck looking at every inch of the room, Keith gave up. Well, almost every inch. He didn't check the ones on his right, where Lance sat. If he stared for too long, Lance might think he was a creep. Keith didn't feel like pushing Lance out of his life just yet. He was the first person that dared approach Keith in such a long time.

_And besides, we have to work on this project together for the next week._

He started to gaze out the window on Lance's side, leaning back a bit so it didn't look like he was staring him. He hoped to see something happen out there like a kid get beat up or a jock failing a move they thought was impressive or something of the sorts. All that Keith saw was a few kids that were spending their free period outside and some kid asking out a girl. Nothing interesting.

"–eith. Keith! KEITH!"

The raven-haired boy whipped his head around, surprised because of the sudden voice. "What?" 

"Class ended 2 minutes ago. Are you okay?" Lance was looking at him, concern written all over his face.

"I'm fine!" Keith snapped. "I just spaced out a bit."

Lance gave him a skeptical look but nodded. "Lets go then. 2 minutes til we're late for the next class."

Keith gathered his things and exited the room, leading the way to their next class.

"Shape-shifters or mythical creatures?" Lance asked out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"The project, Keith," the taller boy reminded him.

"Oh. Shape-shifters, I guess. I have to learn about them anyways, don't I?" Lance nodded just as they reached the classroom.

"Hello, Mr. Holt," the skinny boy greeted the teacher.

Keith just ignored him and went to his seat. He let his mind wander instead of his eyes, only half paying attention for his name as Mr. Holt did the attendance.

"Keith Kogane?"

"Here," he muttered just loud enough to be heard. Mr. Holt smiled and nodded before marking him present.

_He's always nice to me, even when Pidge and I stopped being friends. How weird!_


	5. Chapter 5

**_~EOD~_ **

"Come on."

Keith looked up from the ground when he felt someone grab his wrist. "Where are we going?"

"My house of course," Lance replies in a duh tone. "We have to work on the project and you need to learn how to shape-shift." He whispered the last part.

"Fine but let go of me. It's weird and people would think there's something going on between us."

"Why would they think that?"

_Jeez. Is this kid clueless or what?_ "Because it's high school, Lance. People read so many things into just one tiny gesture, it's not even funny."

Lance just shrugged and let go. Keith drew his hand away quickly as soon as the other boy dropped it, glancing around to make sure no one had seen them. He let Lance lead the way and walked behind him. He wasn't fond of being too close to people. Keith looked around and noticed they were headed towards the part of town where rich people lived.

"Is your family rich or something?" he asked as they neared the biggest mansion the boy had ever seen.

"My family? No, they're pretty poor compared to most families in the United States. At least, that's what I know since the last time I've heard of them. But Shiro is rich," Lance answered as the boys went through the many levels of security. They finally reached the front doors to the mansion after a few minutes.

"I've heard of him so many times, but I don't know him. Who is he?"

"You'll see," he answered. Then he yelled out, "Shiro, I'm back and I've got Keith with me!"

Keith looked around and was amazed with what he saw. Perfectly polished marble floors, a grand staircase that had a fancy black carpet with golden edges running down the middle, two big stone columns at the beginning of the stairs, and so many hallways and rooms. Keith was frozen in awe when he felt a nudge. Looking at the direction he nodded in, the Texan's eyes widened.

"You live with Takashi Shirogane?! He's like the most famous person on Earth!" Keith would have gone full fanboy mode if he didn't want to preserve his dignity.

The tall man in front of him chuckled and held out his hand for Keith to shake. "You can just call me Shiro. It's nice to finally meet you, Keith."

"What do you mean 'finally?'"

"Shiro isn't just a legend and the most successful person on this planet, Kogane. He's the person that has been sponsoring you for a long time now. We're both part of a secret organization called Voltron, Shiro being the leader and me being the sharpshooter," Lance started explaining. "Voltron works for the good of the world but for it to function properly, there has to be at least five shape-shifters, or paladins, on the team to represent the five elements of nature we're trying to protect. I represent water, Shiro represents teamwork, and you represent fire. Teamwork isn't an element but it is necessary to survive and be successful on Earth."

"Slow down and breathe, Lance," Shiro told the tall boy.

Lance obeyed before continuing. "We only have 3 paladins and we need 2 more. But we can go ahead and introduce you to the rest of the team."

As Keith followed Lance, he knew he would never be able to find the exit by himself. "Rest of the team?" he asked.

"Yup! Allura, Coran, the Olkari, the rebels, the Blade of Marmora, and many others. It's hard to keep track of them all."

"And out of all these people, none of them are shape-shifters? Who are the Olkari and the Blade of Marmora? Why are they called rebels? What are paladins? Who are you fighting against? How do you know I'm a paladin? Wha—"

"Woah, slow down. None of them are shape-shifters, the Olkari are tech geniuses, the Blade of Marmora are undercover spies who pretend to work for the Galra but they actually gather intel, I don't know why they're called rebels, paladins are the 5 shape-shifters that form Voltron, we're fighting against a cruel empire that trying to take over the world called the Galra, and we know you're a paladin because we just do." Lance took huge gulps of air when he finished. It made Keith feel a little guilty that he had asked so many questions but he still had more.

"What do you mean 'because we just do?'"

"Paladins can turn into any animal, but their main animals are wolves. They live as wolves, like a pack. We know you're a paladin because under your alpha scent there is a scent of wolf, and it only comes from wolves themselves or paladins." Shiro's voice made the short boy jump. He hadn't realized he was behind him. "Speaking of you being an alpha, I hope you didn't raise your voice at Lance."

"Does it matter if I did?"

"Keith, Lance is an omega."

Keith's eyes widened. "Oh. Wait, if Lance is an omega that means..."

Shiro chuckled. "Yes, that's exactly what it means."

"We're here," the omega announced when they reached whatever their destination was.

Keith saw a big door that was usually used for bank vaults. Shiro entered the code, put his hand on a scanner next to the door, and looked into a camera that was most likely an eye scanner from what Keith could tell. _This is so cool!_

"Keith," Shiro said as he turned to face the boy as the door opened. "Welcome to the heart of Voltron!"


	6. Chapter 6

Lance almost laughed when Keith's eyes widened. "What do you think?" he asked the alpha.

"It's pretty cool." He hid his excitement with a nonchalant tone.

Lance felt a small surge of happiness at Keith's words. "Well, come on then! I'll show you around before we start our project!" he urged. Getting approval from both alphas, Lance led Keith through the busy place. "This is the control room. All the bossing around is done here. Allura! Coran!" Lance waved down the two people who were headed to the break room.

"Hello Lance! How was school today?" A lady with long white hair and an English accent greeted them.

"It was okay. This is Keith, the 3rd paladin."

This time a man with orange hair and an orange mustache spoke. "Well, hello Keith! Welcome to the control room!"

Lance could tell Keith felt a little nervous when Coran stuck out his hand for the alpha to shake. "The alpha is Allura and the beta is Coran, Coran the Gorgeous Man!" He decided to bring up a topic the beta would talk about for hours so he could let Keith escape and they could finish the tour.

"That I am! There was a time when all the ladies couldn't get enough of me! I was very young...."

Lance tugged Keith's sleeve and pointed at a door a few feet away from them. Keith nodded in understanding and began to slowly inch his way there, the omega following close behind. As soon as Lance knew Coran was distracted enough to no longer notice them, he sprinted past Keith to the door and held it open as he rushed past.

"Thanks for getting us out of there."

He shrugged and led the way. "Stay close. It's a maze in here, literally."

"Really? I don't see anything."

"You have animal instincts, Keith. Use them." Lance stretched out his own to locate the invisible walls he knew were somewhere in the rooms. The Olkari always changed the maze so anyone who entered needed the right gadgets or senses to find their way through without dying. He picked up the smell of metal in various places and a map started forming in his head.

He could feel Keith's questioning stare. "Always smell and hear before acting or all hope is lost," he said before stepping into the first part of the maze. He led Keith through half of the maze in silence before suddenly stopping. "From now on, only step on the tiles I do. Step on the wrong one, and we'll have guns shooting at us in 3 seconds." Lance didn't move until Keith gave him a tense nod. After a bit of concentration, the boys were able to move freely again.

"Why was the maze there?" Keith asked.

"Just to make sure whoever's entering is supposed to be here. We don't use codes and things like that here because there are things and places certain people aren't supposed to be around," Lance explained. "That was the entrance to the training room and the room where the leaders of the different parts of the coalition meet."

"Where are we going first?"

"Training room. I don't have access to the leaders' room."

"Why not?"

"I'm an omega. I'm looked down upon by everyone even if I'm saving their lives. Especially since I'm a male omega," he said as they continued to head to the training room.

"Oh." Lance could detect a tone of guilt.

"Don't be guilty, it's fine. Besides, I've gotten used to it already," he muttered.

"No one should have to get used to that," Keith responded as the reached the training room. "What kind of training happens here?"

"Gladiator fights, one one ones, any kind of battle training really."

"Gladiator fights?"

"They're just some advanced battle robots we use for training that we call gladiators." Keith nodded and they moved on to the next room.

**_~Time Skip~_ **

"And that's pretty much everything." Lance had shown Keith every room he had access to.

"That's pretty big. How do you fit more than 30 rooms down there?"

Lance shrugged. "I have no clue. It's been like this since Shiro brought me here, most likely even before that."

"What are we doing now?"

"Either training you to transform or the project, whichever one you wanna do first."

Keith had chosen transforming first so they headed to Lance's room. "Lance, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"If your family is in Cuba, how did you end up here?" 

"Almost the same way you did. I found out I could shape-shift when I was about 3 and my parents walked in on me accidentally transforming. They told the rest of my family and they all thought of me as a freak and even more so when I presented as an omega a few months after. My family strongly believed alphas could do no wrong, betas were great, and omegas were an abomination so they started abusing me. Then when I was 7, they put me up for adoption. I was going around foster homes and getting abused at each one, eventually moving to the US. I had enough when I was 16 and ran away from a foster home in Kansas where Shiro was on a business trip. He found me on the streets and brought me back here. I've been with him ever since. And a few months ago, I found out my oldest sister Veronica lived near Garrison High. She was the only one who never hurt me and would look after me after all my beatings."

"Oh. I'm sorry for asking," Keith whispered.

"Don't be. It was a while ago anyways," Lance responded as he opened a door. He signaled for Keith to enter and followed after the slightly shorter boy, closing the door behind him. "Welcome to my room, where almost everything is blue!" He flicked the lights on as he spoke.

"You seem to really hate blue," Keith joked.

_Silence._

Keith turned around and saw Lance staring at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"Did you just make a joke?" Lance asked.

"Oh come on! I can be funny when I want to!" Keith whined. Lance burst out laughing, Keith following close behind.

"Are you guys okay in there?" Lance heard Shiro ask from the other side of the door.

"Y-yeah, we're fine!" Keith laughed. The door immediately burst open with a wide-eyed Shiro standing in the doorway.

"Keith! Are you okay?! You're laughing! You're not sick, are you?!" Shiro frantically asked. This made Lance roll on the floor laughing while Keith made a pouting face.

"I can't breath!" Lance wheezed.

"Seriously? You can't breath?"

By this time, Shiro had flown down the stairs (literally), frantically calling for Coran. The boys laughed even harder.

"Keith, I think we should start training. Shiro's gonna have the whole place thinking the Galra are attacking!" Lance said as he finally started calming down. Keith agreed and tried to stop his laughter and smiles.

"Okay, so what do I have to do?" he asked when he was able to breathe again.

"It's quite simple really. All you really have to do is concentrate. Clear your mind and feel yourself becoming the animal of your choice. Try to connect with the spirit of your animal." Lance watched as Keith closed and took deep breaths. "You have to picture the animal in your mind," he whispered, circling. He saw the Texan nod and turn into a black panther after a few seconds.

"Great! You did it!" Lance turned into a black panther himself. "My room isn't big enough so we'll battle train downstairs later. Now I want you to turn into the animals I do."

The rest of the day Lance taught Keith how to turn into different animals. It was 10 by the time Lance decided they had done enough for the day. "You did a good job Keith. You're a natural! Tomorrow we can do some battle training after school."

"Thanks. What about the project?"

"It was on shape-shifters, right?" When Keith nodded, Lance walked to his door, opened it and yelled, "Veronica! Where is the assignment robot?!"

"It's in the garage!" the reply came.

Lance threw a quick smile at Keith before leaving the room.

**_~~~_ **

Keith didn't know what to do when Lance left so he decided to look around the room. Almost everything was blue and coated with the same sweet ocean smell he scented on Lance. Keith loved the smell, although he didn't know why. It was like a warm memory to him but he had near lived near a body of water. As he looked, he saw that the bed was massive and filled with stuffed animals and fluffy blankets. He walked into the bathroom where, surprise surprise, almost everything was blue. The mats were blue, the tiles had traces of blue, the sheetrock was painted blue, and the closet, which was at the end and humongous, was filled top to bottom with blue clothes.

_This boy certainly has an obsession with blue,_ Keith thought.He would have preferred the color red but he didn't mind the cool color.

"You like it?" Keith jumped at Lance's sudden voice and turned around.

"I guess. I'd prefer red but blue's a pretty nice color too."

Lance nodded. "It reminds me of the ocean. The sunsets in Cuba were the prettiest things there. But it's a good thing you like red. You're room's almost entirely red and you represent fire."

"My room?"

"Of course!" Lance motioned for Keith to follow. "Your room is right across the hall."

Keith looked at the door Lance pointed at uncertainly. "I can't live here. My foster parents will kill me when they find me and then they'll bust down your doors and try to get Shiro thrown in jail!"

"You turn 18 next week. You can legally leave foster care. We just need to keep you hidden until then or you could go back and come live here next week," Lance argued.

"How do you know when my birthday is?"

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out!" Keith growled at the response and turned into a wolf.

"Are you sure you want to do this? It's pretty late, later than when I was allowed to be out," Lance said. Keith could detect the bitterness in his voice and turned to face him.

"Well, foster parents are a bunch of idiots, especially yours. But you're right, I should go. We'll continue this tomorrow."

Lance nodded and moved so Keith could exit his room. Keith made his way downstairs. He thought about changing back to his human form but he felt a little safer in his wolf form at the moment.

"Howl as soon as you get home." Keith's ear twitched when he heard Shiro. "It lets the pack know you're safe," he explained.

Keith looked over his shoulder and nodded at the other alpha before going into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abuse in paragraph four through six.

Keith thought of the events of the day on his way home. On the way to school, he runs into a talking wolf who turns out to be Lance. Then Lance turns into a horse and Keith rode on his back to school. After the Seven Cruel Hours Of Our Lives thing, he went to Takashi Shirogane's mansion, met the Voltron Coalition, learned how to shape-shift, almost had a mock fight with Lance in their wolf forms, and now he was heading back to his foster parent's house.

_This totally isn't crazy,_ he thought as he turned the corner onto his street. He stopped and looked around to make sure no one was watching him. He let out a howl to let Shiro and Lance know he was okay. He heard two answering howls in return. The first was strong and tough, like Shiro. The second howl was lighter and sweeter, letting him know it was Lance. Keith listened until it stopped and once again looked around before turning back into his human form. He pulled out his keys when he was on the doorstep. But before he could insert them in the lock, the door swung open. Keith looked up at the man who opened the door and stared him in the eye.

"Where the hell have you been?! It's past 10 o'clock and you're getting home just now?!" the man yelled. Keith stayed silent and kept staring at him. That was a mistake on his part. The man dragged the boy inside and slammed the door shut. "Answer me when I'm talking to you, punk!" Keith still stayed silent, but this time out of fear for he knew what was coming next. "Fine then."

Grabbing a fistful of Keith's hair, the man pulled the boy into the basement. He threw him down the stairs and Keith landed with a hard _THUMP!_ Before he could get up the man was on top of him, kicking and punching all over Keith's body. Kick. Punch. Kick, kick. Punch. 5 bruises. Kick, kick, kick, punch, punch. 3 fractured ribs, 2 broken. Picked up, thrown on the wall, step. Broken arm. Keith was sobbing and bleeding heavily. The basement door opened and the hitting stopped.

"George, what's going on down here?" a feminine voice asked. Keith felt a pair of eyes fall on him. "Oh, he finally came back? I thought he'd be gone for good. Okay then, just make sure you're not too loud. The baby's asleep."

The door closed and a hard impact fell on Keith's chest. _CRACK!_ 3 more ribs fractured, 5 more broken.

"Stay down here. No food for you tonight or tomorrow," George growled before going up the stairs and leaving the basement.

Keith lay there in pain, barely able to move. He transformed into a wolf and wondered why he hadn't done that earlier. It was most likely because he didn't have time to. He let out a high pitched whimper and hoped Shiro or Lance heard, even though he knew they were too far away to hear a whimper coming from a basement.

Minutes later, Keith heard savage growling come from upstairs. The basement door opened and a wolf was thrown in, a beta by the smell of it. In an instant, it tried to climb back up the stairs and out of the basement but the door slammed shut in its face. The wolf started attacking the door savagely. Keith, although knowing he was an alpha and could therefore command the wolf, tried to move as far away from it as possible but let out a whimper when he tried to stand.

The wolf must have heard him, because its head whipped around to face him and bared its teeth. Keith stared the animal in the eyes and growled in return. At once, the other wolf backed down. Ears down and tail in between its legs, the wolf took a few steps forward and laid down before Keith. Laying its head on it paws, the wolf took deep breaths to calm itself down. But it immediately raised its head again when it detected a familiar smell.

"Keith? Is that you?"

"Pidge?!" Keith's tail wagged excitingly and he would have been running around if it weren't for his injuries. 

"Oh my gosh, Keith! It really is you!" Pidge's eyes went wide and she jumped to her feet. "This is great! Do you know how to get out of here? We could go to my house and my family could hide you until next week! Hunk can help too!"

"Yeah, I know how to get out of here and I have somewhere else to stay already, but we have a problem." Pidge calmed down and looked at him questioningly. Then the smell hit her. _Blood._

"Oh no. Keith, what did George do this time?" she whispered as she gently nosed him to feel for breaks and find where he was bleeding. She couldn't see very well because there was little to no light in the basement.

"Nothing much out of the usual, just a few extra broken ribs. Sarah didn't join in this time and I'm glad. She was wearing stilettos by the sound of it and she was wearing one of her favorite outfits. It would have been a lot worse if blood got on those, even if it wasn't my fault."

Pidge mumbled something incoherently before backing away from the alpha. "6 fractured ribs, 7 broken ones, and a broken arm," she reported. "Unfortunately, I can't do anything about it because I'm a beta and omegas are the ones with the healing powers."

Keith's ears pricked and his tail was uncontrollable at this point. "Can you change into anything besides a wolf yet?" he asked.

Pidge sat and tilted her head as she thought. "Um, a cheetah, an eagle, and a mole. The last one is pretty useless though."

"It's actually perfect! Look, you remember Lance from school? The new boy? He can help. Go to the rich part of town and go to the biggest mansion you find and ask for him. Say that I sent you."

"That's great and all, but first I have to get out of here. How do I do that?"

Keith nodded at one of the walls. "Dig through there. It's entirely made out of dirt and if you dig up and out, you'll be in the front yard."

The beta looked at him. "And how do you know?"

"Nevermind how I know, just go get Lance!" he growled. Instinctively, Pidge obeyed, turned into a mole, and started digging. "Get there as fast as you can!" the alpha called out after her.

Realizing he was all alone again, Keith made another attempt to move to a corner. _Please hurry Pidge!_ was the last thing he thought before he started drifting off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Lance felt an immense amount of relief when Keith's howl rang through the air. _He made it back safely,_ he thought. He suddenly had a bad felling though.

"Hey Shiro?"

"Yes Lance?"

"Do you think something will happen to Keith when his guardians find out he got home so late?" he asked.

"Keith will be fine. It's just your omega side being worried about a pack member. You get incredibly scared when I'm off on business trips all the time," Shiro reassured him. Lance felt a bit better and pushed the feeling away. _Keith will be fine._

About 30 minutes later, the Cuban nearly jumped out of his skin the the alarm for an intruder went off. _I was just about to go to sleep,_ he thought grumpily. He heard Shiro shut off the alarm and go outside. Lance guessed by the sound of the barks, the alpha had turned into a Great Dane. Leaving his room, he also turned into a Great Dane and ran down the stairs and out the open font door. Lance was surprised at what he saw.

Shiro had pinned a girl to the ground, but she looked familiar to him. With a jolt, Lance realized it was Pidge! Ears flattened aggressively, the boy growled and shoved Shiro away. He stood over Pidge protectively and glared at the confused alpha. He snapped his jaws anytime Shiro tried to get near.

"What's going on? She's an intruder Lance!"

"She's not an intruder, she's a friend form school!"

"Wait, Lance? You're a shape-shifter as well?" Pidge asked.

Lance nodded his dog head. "Why are you here Pidge?"

Pidge's face darkened. "It's Keith. His foster parents... they—"

She couldn't even finish her sentence because Lance had already began running. Pidge changed into a cheetah and ran after the omega. Lance could faintly hear Shiro yell that he would stay at the mansion. He followed Keith's scent and ran even faster, the beta behind him barely being able to keep up, even if her animal was technically faster than him. The trail led him to a fairly nice house that had no lights on.

"Over here." Pidge was standing in front of a hole that was definitely too small for a cheetah. 

Lance gave it a sniff before turning into a mouse and crawling through the dirt tunnel. He heard the snuffling of a mole behind him and realized it was Pidge. Slowing down when his whiskers stopped brushing against dirt, Lance carefully made his way into the open. He stiffened when he smelled blood. He turned into a wolf just to be safe and cautiously went where the smell was strongest. Keith's lavender and burnt wood smell was combined with the metallic tang of blood and Lance feared the worst. His paw finally brushed against fur and the Cuban stopped.

"How bad is it?" he quietly asked.

"6 cracked ribs, 7 broken, and a broken arm," Pidge replied.

Lance was most definitely surprised but tried no to show it. He settled in front of Keith and started licking away the blood from his fur. Jaws enclosed around his neck and Lance stopped mid-lick. There was a low growl and Lance's head dropped onto his paws.

"It's me Keith. Pidge found me and I came." The jaws loosened until Lance no longer felt pressure. A soft growl was heard again when Lance tried to continue to clean the alpha's wounds. "Keith, let me clean and heal your wounds."

There was silence before the reply came. "Okay."

"Pidge, let me know if anyone's coming."

"Alright."

Lance went back to licking away blood, avoiding Keith's rib cage and fore legs. "Okay Keith. I'm gonna need you to move a little bit so I can get behind you," he told the alpha. 

He helped him to his feet and gave him room to step away from the corner of the walls. Keith laid down again after a few hobbling steps. There was just enough room for Lance to squeeze between Keith and the wall. Lance being taller than Keith in human form, was able to make an almost complete circle around Keith with his body.

"What are you doing?" said alpha asked nervously.

"Just relax and lay your head down," Lance whispered calmly. 

He was radiating a calming pheromones, like the ocean one that coated everything in his room. The Cuban saw Keith open his jaws as if to protest but the smell overpowered him and Keith rested his head on Lance's back, his eyes closing. The omega soon did the same thing but didn't quite fall asleep yet. He heard the beta's paw steps come closer and felt a second head on his back. _Sleep well, my pup,_ Lance thought as he licked the top of her small head and finally fell into a peaceful slumber.

**_~Time Skip~_ **

Lance's ears twitched. The footsteps of 2 other people walking upstairs woke him up. _Wait, 2? But my room's on the top floor! And why is my bed so hard and cold?_ Lance opened his eyes, looking around him. Although his eyes were still bleary with sleep, he could make out the shapes of two more wolves around him and a hole in a dirt wall. _Oh no! We're still in the basement!_ He quickly got to his feet, disturbing the other wolves from their sleep.

"Go back to sleep Lance," a male alpha yawned.

"Keith, wake up! Come on, we have to go!" Lance whispered. He nudged the alpha awake and dragged the beta to her paws by the scruff (she was very small compared to him).

"Wha—? Come on Lance! We can sleep for another 2 hours," Pidge muttered sleepily, trying to sink back to the floor.

"No we can't!" He reached down to pick up Pidge again. "We've got to get out of here! If we stay any longer, we'll most likely get killed by George!" Even as he spoke, the omega heard heavy footsteps come closer. 

The others must have heard it too because their ears pricked and Keith growled, "Quick, into a mole!" before grabbing Pidge and almost shoving her into the hole in the wall, ignoring her protests. She quickly changed animals and climbed.

"You next Keith." 

"What? No, I'm not leaving you behind!"

"I mean almost nothing to the pack and you mean everything! You're going!"

Keith stared at Lance. He was about to argue when the door suddenly swung open. A big man stood at the top of the steps. Lance could smell traces of alcohol and cigarettes on him but his fists smelled of blood. Lance's hackles rose and a growl rumbled deep in his throat. The man stopped, surprised to find two wolves and not a wolf and a half eaten body. But then a wicked smile crossed his face.

Keith started growling and stood protectively in front of Lance. The man only smiled more. "Shh, I won't hurt you," he whispered. "Who's a good wolf?"

George closed the door behind him and came closer. He reached both of his hands towards Keith. Lance attacked, swerving to avoid the alpha wolf. His jaws closed around flesh and the Cuban bit down as hard as he could. A cry of pain was heard from the human alpha and Lance was satisfied. The human tried ripping his hand away from Lance, resulting in his skin being torn apart by the boy's sharp teeth and another cry of pain. He stumbled and fell backwards, one of his legs kicking Lance in the chest in the process. The Cuban didn't pay too much mind to this even if it hurt but turned to rush Keith out of the basement. He growled but instead of going into the hole, Keith nudged Lance to it. The slightly larger wolf dug his paws into the ground to stop himself from being pushed further. That's when a fierce bark rang through the basement. _Go now! I order you!_

His omega instincts to listen to an alpha made Lance not even try to oppose and he quickly turned into a smaller animal and crawled through the tunnel into the light. Pidge was waiting for him and he turned back into a wolf to nuzzle her. _Stupid omega instincts,_ he growled to himself. _I should have stayed to make sure Keith got out first!_ He sniffed the hole to see if Keith was coming and almost leaped out of his fur when a scrap of hair shot out. The tiny animal turned into a wolf and shook the dirt out of his fur.

"Come on," he said before running off. Pidge followed and Lance fell in behind her.

"Where are we going Keith?" Pidge asked as they ran.

"Back to Shiro's. He needs to know that we're okay," the alpha answered.

"Is he that the other shape-shifter that attacked me?"

"You'd freak out if you knew," Lance told her. Pidge looked up at him, her eyes pleading. The omega sighed. "Takashi Shirogane. He's the leader of our pack and as you already know, an alpha shape-shifter."

"Wow! I knew I recognized his voice from somewhere!"

Lance pulled up beside Keith before Pidge could ask him any more questions. "You should have gone before me," he dared to tell the alpha.

"Would you have wanted the pack to suffer without its omega? That's what would have happened if you did stay."

"What would the pack do if it lost its next lead alpha? You can replace a healer, but you can't replace a leader."

"You guys would have figured it out. Maybe Pidge would take over. She's the smartest of us all."

Lance shook his head. "She's too young to take on that responsibility. The thought of being relied on for everything would put too much pressure on her shoulders. And Shiro doesn't even know her."

Keith glanced at him. "What do you mean she's too young? She's as old as you and me."

"You've known me for this long and you still don't know how old I am? Wow Keith." Pidge had been listening to their conversation and butted in, pulling up on Keith's other side.

"What do you mean?"

"You mean you don't know?" Lance asked.

"Know what?"

"Keith, I'm only 15!"

Keith's head whipped around to face the small beta. "What?!" In his surprise, the alpha didn't see the trailing tree root that stretched across the sidewalk. He tripped and stumbled, finally stopping with his nose planted into the cement. 

Lance and Pidge slowed down and trotted back to their packmate. "Are you sure this is our next lead alpha?" the beta asked jokingly.

Keith glared at her as he found his paws. "Come on. Shiro's house is just around the corner.

This time Lance took the lead. His pace was a bit slower, mainly because he knew Keith needed a few moments to shake off the shock. "He's a better choice than me," Lance answered. "Or he will be when Shiro decides to train him as an alpha."

"Training? What else would he train as?" Pidge asked. 

Keith turned to her. "Have you always asked this many questions?"

The she-wolf nodded. "You must be losing your memory of me. Don't worry, I'll help you remember." She shrugged as if it didn't matter to her and laughter twinkled in her eyes when Keith groaned.

Keith glared at her when she began to open her mouth again. "Ask one more question and you're sleeping outside."

"Hey calm down! Curiosity is good in a pack beta. Although, I'm surprised she didn't fall flat on her nose like a certain someone."

He received a cuff over the ear from Keith. "Don't be surprised to find beetles in your bed tomorrow."

Lance glared playfully as he slowed at the gate to the heart and soul of Voltron. He turned into his human form and put in a few combinations and went through a few eye and finger scanners before turning back to look at Pidge.

"Welcome to your new home Pidge!"


	9. Chapter 9

Pidge's tail wagged excitedly and her ears pricked up. She got to leave behind her stinky brother and devilishly smart mother sooner than she thought! "Great! When can I move in?"

Lance blinked at her. "You're not going to say, 'New home?! What about the one I have now?! I can't possibly leave my family!?'" he asked.

Pidge shook her head. "I'm more than ready to leave. Matt's stuff takes up most of our room and my mom might look nice but she's a demon!" She shivered, remembering the time she forgot to clean her room on the inspection day.

Lance shrugged and opened the door to go in. Pidge let Keith enter the house first (he was the highest rank out of the three) and rubbed against Lance's legs as she walked in. She didn't know why, but ever since Lance had saved her from Shiro, she had felt more affectionate than anyone would feel towards a stranger you had only met twice. It was as if she was his pup and Lance was her mother. _That can't be right,_ the beta thought. _I'll ask him about it later._

"Hey Pidge." Keith's voice jerked the she-wolf from her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

Keith was in his human form, looking at her from above with a... smile? Was Keith Kogane actually smiling? She hadn't seen him smile in such a long time, she had forgotten what his smile looked like. It was _beautiful_.

"You know you can change back right? I mean, unless you wanna be a wolf for the rest of your life."

Pidge laughed nervously as she changed and scratched the back of her neck. "I was going to! I was just thinking about something!"

"Wow, that's a big surprise," he muttered sarcastically.

"Hey! Don't make fun of her! Thinking is very helpful. It helps you get out of trouble, or if you do it harder and more often, it keeps you from getting in trouble in the first place," Lance defended her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Keith rolled his eyes. "Where's Shiro?"

"I don't know," Pidge whispered as she turned into an eagle, "but that mouse is looking good." 

At the top of the grand staircase, a mouse was scuttling. Quickly taking off and diving towards the mouse, Pidge caught it in her talons as it desperately tried to scramble away. She squawked in surprise when it grew in her talons until she was perched on someone's arm before she could kill it. _Not a mouse!_ she thought as she flew back to Lance. _Not a mouse!_ As she landed on Lance's shoulder, she tried not to grip him, afraid she might harm him with her enormous claws.

"It seems as if our newest member is already brave enough to challenge me," a grumpy man said. Pidge was about to protest when she saw his eyes twinkle good humouredly. But it still ruffled her feathers that she was being accused of something she hadn't intended or even known she had done. "How are you doing Katie? I hope I didn't harm you during our first meeting."

"At least we're even now," she dared say. "And everyone calls me Pidge. Only my mom calls me Katie anymore."

As Shiro nodded, Keith asked, "What happened during the first meeting?"

"Shiro attacked Pidge. I had to stop him."

"It was an accident! I couldn't recognize her in the dark!"

"There was a street lamp right next to us! It's not my fault you're too blind to see!"

"I am not! I have perfect vision, thank you very much!"

"Oh? Then how—"

"Are you guys going to argue all night?" Pidge interrupted. It had been a long night and all the beta wanted was sleep before tomorrow came around in a few hours. It was only 5 o'clock, the crack of dawn, and Pidge didn't usually wake up until 6 to start getting ready for school which they sadly had so she really just wanted to get that hour of sleep.

"No, I'm sorry. I'll show you to your room and I'll give you a proper tour in the afternoon."

Pidge nodded. "Okay." She followed Lance upstairs and tried to remember the way through the hallways so she could get back downstairs.

"Right here," he finally announced. "My room is next to yours on the left and Keith's is right in front of mine. I hope you like green."

Pidge opened her door and turned on the lights. The walls, bed covers, everything was an earthy green. The room was so big, Pidge's jaw dropped. "This is all mine?" she breathed out.

"Yup. Your restroom is right over there and the closet is at the very end of it. You don't have to share with anyone."

Pidge turned and hugged the tall skinny boy. "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything! You should be thanking Shiro."

"I know, but I'm thanking you for bringing me here." Pidge gave him one more tight squeeze before entering the room and flopping onto the bed.

"See you in an hour Pidge. Someone will have your things for school by the time you wake up."

The beta didn't miss the loving tone the omega used. "See you later Lance," she said in return with a smile.

She listened as Lance closed the door and walked to his room before getting up to explore her new room. She first walked to the other door that led to what she assumed was her restroom. It was so big, she almost fainted. She walked to the end of the restroom where another door was. When it was opened, it revealed a huge walk-in closet and almost all the clothes had some traces of green on them. The clothes weren't girly, but at the same time, they weren't boyish. They were right in the middle, just how she liked it!

After Pidge finished going through all the clothes in her closet, she went back to her bedroom and over to her dresser to look for some pajamas, even if she only had less than an hour to sleep. She found a pair of green pajamas with little sheep all over it and put it on. She began to walk to her bed, but remembering there was no background noise in here (she needed some to fall asleep), she left and knocked on Lance's door.

"Yes?" Lance yawned as he opened the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should have realized you were already asleep. I'll just go back to my room and leave you alone," Pidge stammered. This was something she hadn't thought through and it bothered her. She always thought out everything, being the smartest of her friends being one of the main reasons. She relished being the youngest while being the smartest.

"Nah, you're fine. I wasn't asleep yet anyways."

"Um, I was wondering if I could sleep with you while we still can. It's just that it's too quiet in my room and I got used to falling asleep with some background noise, mainly Matt's loud snores. Seeing as you're an omega, I thought maybe I would be able to fall asleep with you, but it was stupid of me to just assume I could—"

"Sure, I don't mind," Lance interrupted her rambling.

"Really? Isn't this like offensive or something and—"

"No Pidge. Really, it's fine. You should get in here before we can't get any more sleep."

Before she could say anything, Lance had already dragged her into his room and laid them down on his bed. Pidge already felt sleepy, knowing it was because of Lance purposely radiating a sleepy scent to make her fall asleep. The smell made her so relaxed and calm.

"Thank you Lance, for like the 3rd time today."

"You're welcome. You don't have to ask, just walk right in whenever you want or need me. Now go to sleep, we won't be able to for 7-8 hours once we wake up again." Pidge felt Lance's arms and body wrap around her as if protecting her from something invisible, his scent washing over her.

Sleep came at last.


	10. Chapter 10

Pidge awoke the next morning and stretched her small limbs. She felt something move next to her and heard a groan. Her eyes flew open and she jumped out of bed. A long skinny figure was stretched out across the length of her bed! _Wait a minute,_ she thought. _That's not my bed._ She let her eyes adjust to the dim light and sighed in relief. _It's just Lance._

He yawned and and sat up in the bed. "Mornin'. Sleep well?"

"What kind of question is that?! Your bed is so comfortable and the ocean smell in your room is so calming, I don't know how you can be awake in here! I just feel like laying down!"

"Well, in that case," Lance chuckled," you better go back to your room. You need to be fully awake and prepared for school."

"Okay," she said with a small pout. "I'll go now." Pidge walked out the door but hesitated in the hallway. "Lance?"

The omega looked at Pidge with a questioning gaze. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me sleep with you. It really helped!"

Lance smiled. "No problem. If you ever need help with anything that doesn't include smarts, you know where to find me."

Pidge smiled back and went to her room. She turned on the lights and walked to her closet to choose her outfit. When she did, she took a quick bath, knowing there wasn't enough time to take a long relaxing one. As she finished getting dressed, she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Pidge, breakfast is ready!"

She ran to her door and opened it. "I heard 'breakfast!'"

Lance chuckled and started walking towards the grand staircase. Stepping out of her room to follow him, Pidge realized Lance was with Keith and if she didn't hurry up, they would leave her behind and she would be lost. Although Lance would most likely come back for her, Pidge didn't want to put him through any more trouble. With that in mind, Pidge ran to catch up with the alpha and omega.

"Good morning, Keith," she greeted when she caught up.

"Good morning," he grumbled in reply. It was too early for him to be awake. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Absolutely! I couldn't fall asleep in my own room so Lance let me sleep with him in his. That was the best sleep I've ever had in my life!"

"That isn't really saying much since I'm not even sure if you sleep. But I guess I'll have to try sleeping with you sometime Lance."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind even if both you came at the same time. And if I ever said no, you could just order me to do so."

The others stopped and Keith grabbed Lance's wrist when he continued walking. Pidge knew higher ranks could order the lower ranks around, and everyone besides another omega could order an omega to do something. But even when she learned that Lance was a lower rank than herself, she never thought to use that to her advantage.

"Lance," Keith said firmly. "We would _NEVER_ order you around like that. It does't matter whether you're an omega or not. I only gave you an order last night to protect you and keep you from danger."

"Oh, I know! I was just saying," he replied a little too cheerfully, much to Pidge's dismay.

Keith smiled in return and let go of Lance so they could continue going to breakfast. Pidge was glad Lance at least acknowledged the fact that she and Keith wouldn't ever try to take advantage of his social status. He was too special to be ordered around as if he was of no value.

"So when are we going to get Hunk to join?" the beta asked a few moments of silence. She and the alpha turned to Lance for his answer.

"I don't know. I was thinking after school maybe. We need all the shape-shifters trained and ready before the Galra attack, and we'll never know when that would happen until it's too late."

"I agree. The sooner, the better it is for all of us."

Pidge nodded. "Then I'll try talking to him at school. I'll try telling Hunk that Lance is inviting us over to hang out. 

The girl was happy when the boys agreed to her plan. She was even happier when they reached the kitchen. She licked her lips in anticipation.

"Food," she murmured, just as her stomach growled. She hoped no one had heard but the soft chuckles Lance tried so desperately to suppress told her they had.

"You two go sit down. I'll make some breakfast," Lance insisted.

Pidge jumped when Shiro's voice appeared out of nowhere. "I heard Lance say he was making breakfast!" he yelled, his head popping into the kitchen with a toothy grin.

"I knew that would get your attention," the tall boy laughed. "Actually, Coran already made breakfast."

Shiro's smile turned into a pout. "You're cruel for an omega, you know. You keep promising to make me breakfast again but you never do!" 

Pidge found it weird. One of the most successful people on the planet pouting over who made breakfast wasn't something you saw every day. The rest of the early morning was spent having breakfast and sharing laughs until it was time for the 3 younger paladins to go to school.


	11. Chapter 11

When the paladins reached Garrison High, Keith stopped them.

"What's wrong Keith?" Lance asked.

He took a deep breath. "When we go in, can we pretend to not be so close?" he asked. At Lance's hurt expression, he quickly added, "It's not personal or anything, I promise! I think both of you are great! It's just that I'm not used to being so... comfortable or nice around people, especially in public. You guys are awesome, just not so much everyone else."

There was a moment of silence before Lance nodded. "Okay. I'll try not to act like I _know_ you. And if you want, I won't talk to you unless it's for the project."

Keith immediately felt a twinge of sadness. "No, no, no. I don't want you to just completely ignore and stay away from me! Just don't be too friendly."

He felt a small pair of arms wrap around his torso and looked down. Pidge was hugging him? "I'll do it if you hug me back," she said into his shirt.

Keith's eyes widened but he awkwardly reached his arms down to wrap around her small body. He hadn't had a hug in such a long time so he didn't know whether he was liking it or not. It had also been a while since he had any physical contact with the female beta in front of him.

Pidge finally pulled away after a few seconds. "Well, let's go find Hunk! Come on Lance!"

Keith watched as the taller boy wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and they walked around. Right before they turned the corner to enter the school, he saw Lance look over his shoulder with a small smile and a wave. He returned it, wondering if he could ever be comfortable enough to have that kind of close relationship with someone he had barely met a few days ago. Of course, it was for some reason easy to be around Lance, but the omega probably made everyone feel that way.

The Texan walked into the school to homeroom, deciding not to be late today. He almost had enough tardies and absences to be held back a year. Oddly, Keith usually wouldn't have cared but now, he wanted to stay with Lance and Pidge. What would they think if he, an alpha and possibly their next leader, got held back a year just because he couldn't be bothered to show up to class on time, if at all? Surely, they wouldn't think very highly of him.

"Good morning class. As usual, we'll start class without a certain person. Open up page—"

"Actually, I'm already here," Keith interrupted.

The teacher turned away from the board and looked up at Keith. She raised an eyebrow and was silent for a few seconds before turning back around. She wrote something on the whiteboard and turned around again. 

"Read the next 10 pages of the book and then do what's on the board. You're free after that. Welcome back to school Keith."

**_~Time Skip to Lunch~_ **

Keith watched as Pidge and Lance got their food before sitting at the beta's usual table. He awkwardly looked away when the omega met his gaze. He looked back in their direction when Lance turned away only to see 3 people approach his seat.

"Hi Keith!" Lance greeted.

"Um, hi," he responded. 

The 3 sat down and Lance turned to him with a smile. "Hope you don't mind." Then he started talking to Pidge and Hunk, the third person.

Keith glanced at them for a brief second before scooting away a little bit with a tiny smile. At least they were close by. They were loud, and lunch was they only time of day where he didn't have to listen to people talking because he always sat alone. But he found himself not minding as much as he thought he would. Still, they were in public and Keith didn't have the best reputation around people.

**_Why aren't you eating your food? _**Keith received a mindlink, something Lance had taught him to do on his first night with Voltron.

**_I'm not hungry,_** he responded.

**_ Eat Keith, or else I will shove food down your throat. Starving yourself isn't healthy and don't try telling me you're not hungry ever again. _ **

**_ Don't worry about me. I'm not hungry. _ **

He heard a low growl coming from beside him and turned. Lance was glaring at him. Not full on glaring, but just enough for Keith to notice.

**_ Eat it, or else. _ **

Keith sighed but took a bite out of his food. He chewed and swallowed before pointedly glancing at Lance. **_Happy now? I ate something._**

**_ Don't think I won't do anything if you don't eat half of that plate before lunch is over. _ **

Keith received no mindlink after that. Remembering that Lance knew how to fight in more ways than one, Keith decided to comply and stuffed his face with half of his food before the lunch period was over.

**_~Time Skip to EOD~_ **

The alpha felt arms wrap around his torso. He quickly spun around and was about to flip the person over his shoulder until he saw a certain beta.

"Oh, hi Pidge," he breathed out. "Where's Lance?"

The beta shrugged. "I think he went to find Hunk. Why?" 

"Oh nothing, I just sort of expected you to be with him. You two seem to be pretty close already."

Pidge smirked. "Are you jealous I get to spend time with your precious omega Keith?" she teased.

Keith just shook his head and they kept walking. Back when they were friends, Pidge would tease him and Hunk for the smallest things. As the two turned a corner and sat down to wait for the other two paladins, Keith remembered those times and faintly smiled.

"I miss you Keith."

The male looked at her in surprise. She missed him? Why? He was just an emo loner who was always getting in trouble. No one _really_ ever like him. They either pretended to or found someone better to hang out with. But Pidge _missed_ him?

"I miss you too Katie," he finally responded. He wrapped his arms around her small frame to return the hug she still held him in.

He suddenly got a punch in his stomach. "I told you to never call me that," she growled. 

He chuckled and ruffled her hair with a smile. "Don't ever punch me again."

"Hey weirdos," a voice called. "I've got Hunk! Let's go!"

They both got up and let go of each other. Pidge ran over and jumped on the tall skinny boy's back. "Hi Lance. Hey Hunk."

"Hey Pidge." Lance didn't hesitate in holding the beta's legs to keep her from falling.

"Hey Pidge. Do you know where we're going? I kinda have to get home before my mom worries," Hunk greeted. It seemed like a normal reply but Keith didn't miss the nervous glance Hunk directed at him.

"Don't worry Hunk. It won't take too long," Lance reassured him.

**_You didn't tell him?_** Keith asked.

**_ No, I couldn't because there were too many people around. _ **

_**Besides, it's better to show Hunk something rather than tell him. Even then, his reaction wouldn't be the best.** _Keith was startled when Pidge joined the mindlink. He didn't know she had already learned how to do so.

**_ I guess. _ **

"So, um, why is everyone so quiet? Is something bad going to happen? Please don't let anything bad happen. Also, why are we over here? Are you rich or something Lance? You don't look like you'd be rich. Although, I guess that'd be something a rich person would hide. I can't believe—"

"Hunk, please be quiet," Keith interrupted. Hunk was still too nervous about everything and asked too many questions.

Lance glanced at Keith. "It's not so much that I'm rich, Hunk. More like someone I know. And no, nothing bad is going to happen."

**_~Mini Time Skip~_ **

Keith sighed. The paladins had told Hunk everything. He was currently freaking out and running all over the place, screaming about how it was just a strange dream. Honestly, the red paladin couldn't blame the guy. It did feel like it could be a dream. But the pain Keith experienced a few nights prior convinced him it was all real.

"Hunk, for the last time, please calm down!" Lance seemed to be running out of patience, something Keith thought was impossible for an omega, especially Lance.

Hunk finally stopped and caught his breath. "Okay. Can you run that by me again?"

Lance sighed deeply and opened his mouth to explain for the 5TH time when Keith interrupted. "I'll do it this time Lance," he told the blue paladin. "Basically, the 5 of us can change into any animal and we have to fight an evil gang that has already taken over half of the world. We also represent a natural element. Lance is water/ice, I'm fire, Pidge is earth, and you are air."

"Okay, then what's Shiro's?"

"Shiro is our leader. His job is to keep us together and help us master our elements."

"Okay, I think I've got it now! We shape-shifters have to fight a gang that's already taken over most of the world by ourselves as animals. But we also get super cool elemental powers?"

"Pretty much."

"And you and Shiro are alphas, Pidge and I are betas, and Lance is our omega?"

"Yes."

"Then I've got everything."

"Thank goodness," Lance muttered under his breath. Keith didn't miss his joking smile or his grateful glance that was shot at him.

"But you mentioned something about training?"

Lance nodded. "I'll let Shiro teach you that. Keith and I have a project to do."

**_Follow me,_** came the command.

Keith followed Lance up the stairs and down the hallways until they reached their rooms. Lance opened his door and motioned for Keith to enter first before closing the door behind himself. He got onto his bed and patted the space next to him for Keith to join him.

"Okay, so I know we're not doing the project right now. What did you need?" Keith asked as he sat next to the blue paladin.

Immediately, Lance latched onto his side. "Nothing. I just wanted to spend some time to get to know you. Now that we have the rest of the paladins, Shiro is going to want to start extra training and I expect there to be few relaxing days."

"Oh. . . okay." Keith was kind of awkward. He wasn't one to show much affection, much less receive any so he didn't know how to react to Lance's actions and words. But he knew he enjoyed this moment and the affection the omega was showing. He almost whined out loud when the taller boy pulled away.

"I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable. You can leave if you want. I shouldn't have done that—"

Keith cut him off by pulling the blue paladin into his arms. He pulled so they were laying down with Lance lower in the bed and both of them facing each other.

"Don't be sorry, Lance. I was just caught off guard. I don't mind spending time with you," Keith whispered.

Keith felt a wave of happiness wash over the room when he said those words. But whether it came from the boy in his arms or himself, he couldn't tell.


	12. Chapter 12

When Keith pulled him back and told him not to be sorry, Lance was overjoyed. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he could howl with happiness and run around the room like an excited pup. It wasn't common for someone like Keith to accept or show affection, so he made the most of it. He snuggled against the alpha with a small smile and found himself purring. Just before he could stop, Keith spoke.

"L-lance? Are you... purring?" he asked.

Lance blushed in embarrassment and slowly nodded. "Y-yeah, sorry. It's a thing an omega does when they're happy and feel safe and it's hard to control," he quietly explained, not daring to look up at Keith's face.

The older boy only hugged him tighter. "I never thought I would hear an omega's purr, much less be the cause of it. It's fine Lance. And stop apologizing for everything, especially the things you can't control. People won't respect you if you're submissive and sorry about everything," he responded as he passed his fingers through the Cuban's hair.

"I can't help it. Being an omega, my body just won't put up a fight for anything and just automatically gets submissive, wanting everyone's approval. And I don't think there are many things less respected than a _male_ omega." Lance sighed.

"I understand it's hard being a male omega. But is it your second gender or you that's wanting everyone's approval?"

Lance went quiet after that question.

It was a good one. Was it his omega or was it he himself wanting everyone's approval? It could very well be him. Lance knew he had insecurities from a very young age. Ever since his family began to hate him, all he wanted was to be accepted by people. He would always do what was asked of him and if it wasn't to the person's satisfaction, he would punish himself in terrible ways, even if he had already been punished.

As he remembered those dark times, he didn't realize tears had begun to fall from his eyes until hands started to gently wipe them away. The hands were shaky, as if not sure if what they were doing was right. But Lance was brought out of his dark memories by those hands. He sadly smiled and leaned into the touch. The hands retracted and instead pulled the blue paladin higher in the bed so Lance's head was just under Keith's.

"I-I'm sorry for saying that, Lance. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I'm just not s-so great with people. Please stop crying," Keith panicked.

This made the younger male chuckle. "I'm not crying because of you, dummy. Just some... bad memories," he tried reassuring him.

"Well, then let's forget about those bad memories for some time," the red paladin responded.

Lance nodded and tangled their legs together while resting his head in the crook of Keith's neck. The boy's protective and dominate alpha scent was strongest there because of the scent glands. His smell calmed him, even if it was supposed to be the other way around, and Lance felt extra safe knowing there was an alpha with him that would protect him. Their arms wrapped around each other's torso and Lance felt Keith rest his head on top of his own. Once they settled down, Lance drifted to sleep.

**_~Time Skip~_ **

The Cuban teen awoke to knocks on his bedroom door a few hours later. He tried as best as he could to not wake up Keith as he shifted out of his grasp to get up and open the door to see who wanted him.

"Hey, Lance," a voice said as he opened the door. "You and Keith didn't come downstairs for dinner a while ago so I brought you both something. Hunk helped Coran in the kitchen so they're some pretty amazing tacos."

Lance smiled. "Thank you, Pidge. Where is Hunk anywa—"

The boy was cut off by a raspy voice behind him. "Lance?"

Said boy turned around. "I'm just talking to Pidge," he said. He only got a nod in return so he turned back to the girl in front of him. "So where is Hunk?"

"Oh, he left to go back home after dinner. Is that Keith in your bed?" She quickly dismissed the boy's question and changed the topic with her head peeking into the room.

"Yeah, we kind of fell asleep. A project is hard when you're not a 15-year-old genius."

"I can help you. And also, I know guys weren't working on the project. I found the robot for that downstairs."

Lance watched as Pidge entered his room, food still in hand, and woke up Keith who had slightly gone back to sleep. She set the food on the bedside table and poked him.

"Hey Mullet! I brought you some food. You've had your turn with Lance, now it's mine, so out."

"'I told you to never call me that again,'" he mocked. He didn't move an inch.

"Fine, since you obviously won't move, how about we share him?"

"What am I, a toy?" Lance asked with a pout.

Pidge got up and dragged the boy to his bed. "Nope, you're so much better than a toy. You're Lance," she smiled.

Lance smiled back and let himself be pushed down onto his bed. These people loved him, as much as you could when you barely knew each other, even if he was a male omega, and he appreciated it so much. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to notice Pidge had turned into her wolf form and curled against him until he felt a cold nose touch part of his wrist.

Lance also turned wolf and curled around the beta. Keith followed suit and even though Lance was bigger than Keith (for now at least), the alpha wrapped himself around him as best as he could. It looked like a normal wolf family, the omega protecting the cub and the alpha protecting the omega. Good thing Lance found a new family, his friends.

He was going to need them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a long one ;-;
> 
> Also, start counting how many times I use "turn," "turning," or "turned" in this story.

Pidge, Hunk, and Keith were doing well in their training, learning something more everyday. They all had their special skills in which they excelled at. Pidge was the smartest in the room, especially when it came to technology. Keith was the best in close combat, mostly with swords. Lance was an excellent sharpshooter and could perfectly use any gun you threw at him. And Hunk was best with heavy fire. The paladins grew closer in the past three weeks as well.

Currently, Allura was briefing the paladins on their first mission as Voltron. "Remember, the Galra use wild animals that have been taken under their control as well as men. Do NOT harm these animals, only set them free. And be careful of the locals. They are defenseless and vulnerable so keep the fight away from them as much as possible. That is all."

"Alright team, suit up. Let's go kick some Galra butt!" Shiro ordered. He smiled as he watched the other paladins immediately respond.

The team moved quickly and efficiently even after only three weeks of training and working together. They couldn't afford otherwise. But Lance was proud. A team that he helped build was doing great! 

Voltron ran through the forest on their way to the nearest Galra base village. Their armor was made specifically for them and changed to cover the paladins, no matter their form. Lance was going through his mission in his head. Get the locals away from the fight, keep them safe, and once they were safe from harm, he could join the main fight.

He would have preferred Pidge do this task to keep her safe, but the omega had his orders. He was going to carry out his mission and then help the others.

"Are you ready, Lance?" Since Allura and Coran couldn't mindlink, the paladins had communicators implanted in their armor so they could talk to them.

"I'm ready."

Hunk ran next to Lance. The beta was his escort to the village that had been taken over. When Lance had safely arrived, he would leave to join the others. Lance, being more lithe and agile, arrived first and told Hunk he could go fight. He carefully scanned the surrounding area. There were only a few Galra-controlled animals and some men. That was easy enough. Free the animals, injure a few people, and get the villagers away to safety.

The blue paladin started with the animals since those were the easiest. He couldn't harm them so instead he dodged all of their attacks. All he had to do was break the helmet on their heads that controlled them. Then he moved on to the humans. Those were a little harder. He had to injure them enough to where they couldn't interfere with him, but not to the point they died. Maybe knocking the weaker ones unconscious and dislocating a limb or a bullet for the others. Yeah, that would do it.

He went from Galra to Galra, sometimes tearing up a body part or knocking them unconscious. The bigger Galra were harder to take down, but Lance managed. He had to admit, he didn't like hurting other people. He was an omega, one of the rare ones with the ability to heal. But this was the only way he would be able to free innocent people so he had to do it.

"Are you okay, Lance? You've been quiet for a bit," Pidge's voice came through. Gunshots and the swinging of a sword could be heard in the background.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Approaching the cells now," he responded.

As he approached where he knew the villagers were being held hostage, his heart dropped. They were all alphas and betas. Not a single omega. _This won't end well._ When he entered, all eyes snapped to him. Lance took a deep before speaking.

"Don't be afraid, I'm a Paladin of Voltron here to save you and bring you to safety."

There were snickers and growls everywhere. "Afraid? Of an omega? That's nice. Why don't you run along and get the real Voltron, little omega?"

Lance had been unlocking all the cell doors as the person spoke. He looked up when he finished the last one. "I am a real paladin. How else would I have gotten past all the Galra?"

"They have poor taste. You probably seduced them with that horrid body of yours," another sneered. They had begun to crowd around Lance and push him backwards.

Usually, Lance would brush off comments like these. But now, they were getting to him for some reason. Could he really be a Paladin of Voltron if he was an omega? Omegas were only used as... _play things_ for most people. Had he really fought the Galra, or had he used _other_ methods to get past them? The thoughts kept running through Lance's head. 

_He was an omega, so he was useless._

_He was an omega, so he was hated._

_He was a_ male _omega, so he was disgusting._

Lance never like cramped spaces, the aftermath of being bullied and abused. So when the former prisoners crowded him into a corner, he panicked even more.

**It's not safe!**

**Get out or they'll hurt you!**

**Alpha will keep you safe!**

**Get Alpha!**

Blaytz, the spirit of the original blue paladin, was going crazy. Alpha? Who was Alpha? Lance knew so many, which one could it possibly be?

"Sh-shiro?" he whispered, not knowing he had turned off the comms earlier.

**No! ALPHA!**

Lance couldn't think straight and they were getting closer than ever. Who was Alpha? He looked up, only to see a beta about to land a blow.

**_~~~_ **

**_~A few minutes prior~_ **

They were almost through the Galra defenses. Keith had gotten worried about Lance again. His mission should have been over by now and the alpha knew how bad he wanted to help them. So what was taking so long?

**_ He's fine, Keith. He'll call us if he needs help. _ **

**_Alright,_** Keith responded to Shiro's mindlink. He had almost forgotten his worry until Alfor, the spirit of the red paladin from long ago, started talking to him.

**Omega is scared.**

**Protect Omega!**

Omega? Was Lance in trouble?

**Omega needs protection!**

**Keep Omega safe!**

**Get to Omega!**

His body reacted before Keith could process anything. Once he was actually aware of what he was doing, he found himself running in the direction of the village. Galra bodies were everywhere, some unconscious, some injured to the point they couldn't get up anymore. It seemed Lance had done a pretty good job getting past all the guards, so why would he be in enough trouble for Alfor to speak to him?

He heard some commotion coming from one of the larger huts and cautiously approached it. By that time, Keith was pretty sure Shiro had ordered him to return many times, but he ignored him. Keith peeked inside the hut. Judging by the doors that didn't match the style of the rest of the village and the many people, he guessed this was where the cells were.

The prisoners were free but they were all crowding in a corner. They were yelling things and they looked ready to attack something. Keith tried listening to what they were saying.

"You're just a little slu—"

"You're an abomination!"

"You're useless!"

"You should just go die!"

_Wait a minute, those insults are mostly thrown at an_ —

**OMEGA!**

In an instant, Keith rushed forward. The smell of so many aggressive betas and alphas in one place had hidden the scent of distressed omega from Keith. A beta raised his fist. He was aiming at Lance and Keith wouldn't take it. The fist was lowering quickly but luckily he was faster. He was able to intercept it with his own body just as a loud cry of "Alpha!" was heard.

Keith grunted when the fist connected with his back. Even with only three weeks of training Keith had gotten stronger and was even as big, if not bigger, than Lance so the punch didn't affect him nearly as much as it would have a few weeks ago. As he looked up, he made eye contact with the beta who had dealt the blow. He could see their look of surprise and the movement of their lips, but the only thing Keith could hear were Lance's hysterical sobbing and a pause where he would mumble things before continuing to cry. He could feel his canine teeth growing longer in his anger.

"Get out," he growled at the gathered crowd of alphas and betas. At their hesitation and confusion, he growled again. "Get out! We set you free and you proceeded to attack one of us, so I suggest you leave before you regret it!"

They scrambled over each other in their haste to exit the hut. Only when the last one was no where in sight did the angry alpha relax and turn around to see the trembling omega that had curled himself into a ball in the corner. Keith reached out to Lance but he whimpered and drew away, trying to make himself even smaller.

"Shh. Lance, it's okay. It's me, Keith," he tried reassuring in a soft voice.

Lance looked up at him as if lost with eyes shining and overflowing with tears. "Keith? Alpha?" he mumbled in question, but it seemed more towards himself.

"Yes, Lance, I'm here. Alpha is here."

Immediately, Lance latched onto him and sobbed into his shoulder. There wasn't anything he could do except rub circles on his back and whisper reassuring things in hopes to calm the omega while the rest of the team arrived. Lance's sobs eventually died down to quiet sniffles here and there. Just when he had almost fallen asleep, everyone came charging into the hut yelling, making him jump.

"What happened?!"

"Keith, you can't just run off like that!" 

"Is Lance okay?! Those Galra looked really torn up out there! Is he hurt?!"

All the noise scared Lance and he began to panic. He tried scrambling away from the team and hiding behind Keith. What was going on? Usually Lance would brush aside insults and fight anyone who tried fighting him, depending on how strong they were and not their social status. But here he was, hiding behind Keith after crying for what could have been thirty minutes.

"Guys, calm down and shut the hell up!" Keith growled.

Shiro looked like he was going to scold him until he saw Lance. "Oh."

At this, everyone got quiet. They looked at Lance, scared, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Keith, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Pidge asked.

"You guys were busy yelling your heads off!"

"Well we wouldn't be if you had told us where you went!"

"I didn't even know what was happening until—"

"Okay guys. Let's stop fighting and get Lance back home. Luckily, this mission was close by so it won't take too long to get back," Shiro suggested. Everyone seemed to agree so Keith got up and carried Lance, adjusting him to an easy position so they could move faster.

The team got back quicker than they got to the village, most likely so Lance could make a nest and feel safe sooner. As soon as they arrived, Keith ran upstairs and brought Lance to his room where he set him down on his bed. The omega immediately got up and began to move around.

**_~~~_ **

**_NEST._ **

**_BUILD A NEST._ **

Lance's inner omega hadn't left him alone about nesting since Keith had begun to carry him home, especially when Shiro mentioned nesting on the way. So as soon as Keith set the omega down, he got up. He went through some clothes in his laundry pile and threw them onto his bed. He felt eyes watching him so he looked over his shoulder at Keith. The alpha didn't react, only gazed at him in interest. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Lance started leaving the room.

Surprised, Keith yelled out, "Wait, where are you going?!"

Without looking at him, Lance replied, "Alpha's room," and walked across the hall.

But before he touched the handle to open the alpha's bedroom door, he turned to look at Keith for permission. He looked at him until the older boy nodded, finally realizing what he was asking for. The room wasn't much different that Lance's, everything was just red rather than blue and smelled like Keith, so Lance knew where everything he was looking for was. He grabbed a few blankets and some of Keith's dirty shirts and pants. Since they hadn't been washed yet, Keith's scent was still on it instead of the smell of laundry detergent, perfect for his nest.

He carried everything back to his room and left it on his bed with his own clothes. The Cuban was just about to leave his room again when he heard a grunt form the door. He panicked, thinking it might of been something dangerous, and whirled around, looking for Keith. He was just about to hide behind him until he heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, Lance. I just came to bring you things for your nest. I scented a few blankets as well, just in case you wanted something fluffy." 

He smiled and hurried over to the struggling beta. He took the girl's load of clothes and blankets and also placed it on his bed before turningback around. His smile turned into a chuckle when he saw the girl. Pidge's hair was messier than usual and her glasses were twisted on her face from carrying the pile of materials almost as big as herself. He went up to her and fixed her glasses for her, making sure her hair was back to its normal self.

"Thanks for the clothing and blankets, Pidge," he called as she left his room and he turned back to the bed. Out of the corner of his eye, Lance could see Keith staring at him in surprise so he asked, "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that you seem to be back to normal."

Lance shrugged. "My state of mind will flicker between normal and heat mode because I'm usually on suppressants. Also because I haven't had my heat for a while."

"When was the last time you had your heat?" Keith asked as he watched Lance begin to sort through the pile on his bed.

"Maybe right after Shiro saved me? I can't really remember. Now come help me. I want to finish this before I fully go into heat mode."

"Isn't it dangerous for an omega to not go through heat for long periods of time? Especially two years?"

Instead of answering, Lance beckoned Keith over to him and told him to separate the softer materials from the rougher ones. When they finished, Lance began building his nest by starting with the base. Interweaving the rougher materials to construct, Lance worked quickly. He didn't want his nest unfinished before he fell back into heat mode permanently for the week. Many omegas felt unsafe without a nest, including him. Next he started building the walls of his nest, still using the rougher clothes and blankets. It would keep the walls from falling apart easily.

When he was done with the walls, he started the last layer, the softest. He gathered the remaining materials and began lining his nest with it. Having the softer materials as the top layer would keep him comfortable during his heat, a very important thing to keep his body working properly.

Lance stepped back to admire his work. It was small. Lance was used to having a small nest, usually using only Shiro and his own clothes and blankets whenever he felt like nesting out of boredom or just a sudden urge. This one was a little bit bigger since another person had brought materials. But it wasn't big enough for his bigger pack and it worried Lance.

Almost as if sensing the omega's thoughts, Keith, who had been watching silently as Lance worked, spoke. "It's okay Lance. You can make your nest bigger tomorrow. You'll get new stuff with everyone's scent and we'll all fit."

The words seemed to calm Lance as he nodded. "Get in. I want to know if it's comfortable and big enough for at least you and Pidge to join me."

Keith immediately transformed into a wolf. He jumped onto Lance's bed and stopped at the edge of the nest, looking up at the omega. Everyone knew to never enter an omega's nest without direct or obvious consent.

When the blue paladin gave his permission, Keith leaped over the nest's entrance, one part of the circular wall that was lower than the rest for easier access. He circled and sniffed around the nest, happy that his smell seemed to be the strongest in the mix of scents. Lance watched nervously as the wolf in his nest finally laid down. The alpha shifted around a bit, being careful to not ruin anything. The younger boy tensed when Keith sat up straight and looked at him.

**_ It's perfect, Lance. I'm pretty sure all three of us would fit in here. _ **

Lance smiled when he received the mindlink, relief flooding over him in massive waves. Seeing as he hadn't had his heat for over two years, he wanted everything to be perfect. He turned wolf and entered his nest, curling his body into the alpha. He connected their foreheads gently in a sign of thanks before laying down to ready himself before his weaker, more vulnerable state of mind and body returned.

The Cuban felt himself slipping just as the door opened and an unfamiliar scent entered the room.


	14. Chapter 14

Keith was contentedly watching Lance and Pidge in the nest. It had been just big enough for the three of them not to be squished against each other or the walls. Pidge had entered the room just as Lance fell into his heat mode. But when she came, her scent was masked with that of a kitchen, oil, and metal, scaring Lance. He had to make Pidge take a shower and scent both her and the omega before he calmed down. As soon as he recognized Pidge, he dragged her wolf form into the nest, being cautious not to ruin the nest, and tucked her into him. Keith had to suppress a laugh when the beta was almost completely hidden by the boy's floof.

Lance would let out little trills and chirps of happiness from time to time, accompanied by little nuzzles he would press against the girl or alpha. Keith would always respond with soft nudges of his own, something he would most likely never do if he wasn't in his rut. Pidge would simply let him, sometimes leaning her head away so her scent glands were easier to reach.

It was now almost time for dinner. Keith's instincts told him to go searching for food for Lance, but at the same time, told him not to leave the vulnerable boy. 

He was still contemplating his choices when Pidge spoke. "I'm going to get some food for us. I'll be back soon," she said, struggling to find a way to escape Lance's fluffy fur.

Keith almost growled when Lance whined because she managed to find her way out. She had made Omega feel sad and worried. But then again, this was Pup. He couldn't harm her or else Omega would get mad and hurt him. So he glanced between the two of them, trying to process what she had just said.

**Getting food. Will return soon.**

Understanding, Keith mindlinked Lance. **_Pup will return, Omega. She will bring food._**

**_Will she be okay?_** Lance asked in return.

**_ No one would dare harm her. _ **

Keith was happy he at least was seemingly able to reassure the younger boy. He did not cry out or stop the beta when she changed forms and began to slowly walk away. Lance only sat and watched the door anxiously for her to return so Keith tried distracting him. Being careful of the omega's sensitive skin, he tried nibbling and tugging at Lance's ears to get him to play. Of course he let Lance pin him down multiple times when he finally got him to turn away from the door. They wrestled around until a knock was heard. Keith instantly stiffened, a growl already emitting from deep in his throat. He felt the omega's frightened and worried eyes on his back as he began approaching the door.

"Keith? Lance? I'm coming in!"

The alpha visibly relaxed at the voice and turned to make sure the omega wasn't panicking. It was Pidge who had returned with food for both of them. Keith's mouth watered as she slid in two plates medium-rare steaks, she herself having her mouth clamped around a bit of sandwich so she could carry the plates and open the door.

Sniffing the meat, he picked the two juiciest and nicest looking steaks and brought them over to Lance for him to eat. When in animal forms, the paladins only ate whatever their chosen animal ate. They could eat it raw but most of the time preferred it to be at least a little cooked. Lance tried objecting the steaks. Shouldn't the alphas have nicer things? The most a _male omega_ deserved were the alpha's scraps. But Keith finally managed to convince the Cuban to to eat the better steaks, only eating his own when he was sure Lance would finish his.

When the three finished their meal, Pidge returned to her wolf form and they all curled up in the nest again.

**_~1 Week Time Skip~_ **

Keith shook out his fur, annoyed. He had been patrolling the area around the mansion, making sure there was no trace of enemies nearby, when out of nowhere, he had been drenched in water. He turned around 360° and even looked above him, trying to find whoever had decided they had a death wish.

After a few seconds of searching, Keith heard Pidge's giggle that he knew too well and Lance's distinct ocean smell. Sighing, he relaxed his bristling fur and sat down. He couldn't get mad or even look remotely threatening to or around Lance and Pidge. During Lance's heat the previous week, Lance had been jumpy and frightened easily, even around the rest of his packmates. He, of course, allowed Shiro and Hunk and even Allura and Coran enter his nest, but he tried limiting physical contact with them as much as possible. Keith assumed it was just the consequences of taking suppressants and not going through heat for two years. He seemed to be right because the behavior was fading.

"Alright you two, come on out," he called out, still being able to feel water dripping down his fur.

A giggling gremlin dropped down from a nearby tree and an amused sharpshooter emerged from a clump of bushes a few feet away. Although Pidge hadn't been laughing too bad, she burst out cackling and wheezing on the ground when she saw the alpha wolf's face dripping. Keith groaned at the girl, causing Lance to let out chuckles as he approached him.

"Here, I'll let you get me wet so it's fair," he said as he transformed into his wolf form, which was now smaller than Keith's and less muscular.

Immediately taking up on the omega's offer, Keith pounced on him. They wrestled around, Lance squealing and giggling as he got sprayed with the clear liquid as they played. When Keith decided Lance was wet enough, he got off and backed away, laughing. As Lance got on his paws, they glanced at Pidge, who had been watching them with a smile but without a single drop of water on her.

Keith glanced back at the omega he had just played with and smiled at their silent agreement. They turned back to the female, stalking towards her. They pounced when realization dawned on her face and easily got her wet as well, seeing as she was still smaller than them. The boys laughed as they admired their work while Pidge wrung out her shirt, grumbling.

"Come on, guys. Let's go back home to wash up," Keith suggested when they had all calmed down. The others agreed and they ran back to the mansion they shared with the rest of Voltron as well as Allura and Coran. They happily reached their home, hurrying so they could take relaxing showers.

That was when the alarms sounded.


	15. Chapter 15

Lance was terrified.

Lance usually would not worry about an alarm going off. It was usually a runner that had gotten too close to the mansion or a curious wild animal tampering with the security system. But this time, the alarm was different.

The alarm that was going off was the one for Galra.

The Galra were the only humans that had an underlying cat scent, making it possible for them to be told apart from regular humans or paladins. All Galra had it, even the Blade of Marmora. They were a group of Galra rebels that were born into and disagreed with the way of the Galra Empire. The members of the BOM received a different way to enter, though, so the only answer was the Galra were attacking.

Lance glanced at Keith and Pidge, knowing they didn’t know what the alarm meant or why it was different. But they were tense and alert, at least knowing something was wrong. The omega watched as they glanced at him then at each other before moving towards him protectively.

“The Galra are here,” was all that he said before beginning to approach the mansion.

The others’ eyes widened before nodding in understanding. The new information they had just learned only made them more protective of Lance. When they reached the front door, Keith stretched out an arm in front of Lance.

“I’ll go in first,” he whispered, pushing Lance behind him.

The omega grumbled, not liking how the  _ alpha _ had to lead but followed him anyways while making sure Pidge was following behind him. The three stopped at the door, and Keith looked back at them, his face replacing any hint of playfulness with a serious expression. 

“You two need to get to the armory. It won’t be a small invasion, and there’ll be fighting everywhere, so try to get your bayards before joining if possible. I’ll cover you,” Keith explained. He pulled out his bayard, which he had brought with him on patrol just in case, and Lance realized with a jolt that he was the only one that was armed.

Lance tensely nodded and mentally prepared himself for what was going to happen. He watched as Keith counted down from three with his fingers before kicking the doors down and rushing in, sword ready to attack and defend. But everything was quiet. Too quiet. Lance instinctively pulled Keith and Pidge closer to himself for comfort. His head whipped from side to side, up and down, anywhere, to find the threat. But there was none.

**_ Is anyone there?  _ ** Keith mindinked the entire pack.

No one responded.

Panicking, Lace ran to the armory, pulling Pidge close behind him and ignoring Keith’s calls to be careful. He sprinted the entire way, carrying the girl when she couldn’t keep up. The omega threw her armor at her along with her bayard. Grabbing his own, Lance put on his gear as he stumbled out and down back to the main entrance to find Keith.

“Lance, wait!” The omega stopped, looking over his shoulder to face the girl. “You’re going too fast, and you could run right into some Galra. We have to be careful.”

His instincts told him to get to the alpha that was downstairs as quick as possible. But they also told him to look after Pidge. And Pidge had told him to slow down and be careful. He didn’t know what to do, so he stayed still and reached out his senses.

He heard nothing except for Pidge’s footsteps and pants as she caught up as well as his breathing. He couldn’t find the scent of any Galra nearby at the moment, but they were all around the mansion.

**_ Lance, Pidge, are you okay? _ **

**_ Yeah, we’re fine. We’re coming back to you now, _ ** Lance replied.

**_ We’ll be there soon, _ ** Pidge answered.

“Pidge, get on my back. We’ll get there faster.” When she hesitated, he added, “I won’t drop you, and I’ll be careful.”

She gave him a look saying,  _ ‘You better not drop me’ _ before climbing up his tall body. Lance took off jogging. He stopped and looked both ways at every intersection and sniffed the air every few steps to check for Galra. They did encounter a few but had no trouble defeating them before moving on and quickly reaching the main entrance.

Keith wasn’t there anymore, but before Lance could begin worrying, Pidge said, “He’s at the entrance to the Coalition.”

Lance nodded and let the beta slide off his back before turning in the direction their friend was, his bayard ready. They reached Keith with no problem, but Lance didn’t like Keith’s worried look.

**_ They’re in here. I can smell the Galra. I think they’re trying to hack in and steal information, so be ready to fight. _ **

On Keith’s signal, they opened the vault door. Lance was shocked. Everyone in the control room was a Galra soldier. There were some at the computers trying to get information, some trying to open doors that led to other areas. Some were even watching over several unconscious and bound people Lance couldn’t make out the faces of. He didn’t want to know where the splatters of blood came from or where everyone else was. But the most unsettling part?

They were all alphas.

Lance had stopped taking suppressants almost a month ago (he had run out without him noticing and never came around to getting more), so he couldn’t hide the fact that he was an omega. His body would no longer allow him to act like a beta, and even if it did, he would still reek of omega. It was bad enough that his mind was already not cooperating with him. Only suppressants could hide the smell of one’s second gender, not even the most fragrant perfume or bath soap being able to work. The Galra being alphas and Lance’s inability to hide his omega status caused problems.

For starters, the Galra were all huge. Some were even stronger than Keith or Shiro, so Lance was pretty much useless in a fight. Even the weakest Galra soldier present could easily overpower him. At least the Galra he had encountered were mostly sentries and animals. Those were easy to defeat. But these were actual people who knew what they were doing.

Another problem was that they  _ knew _ they could overpower him. They could force him to submit by using their alpha voice and take him away. Then they could use Lance however they pleased, no one to stop them. Going through the terrible things in his past was  _ not _ on the top of Lance’s to-do list.

The vault door made a little squeak as it opened. All heads snapped towards it and the remaining paladins.

_ Well, this will be great, _ Lance thought.

He powered on his shield just in time for the Galra soldiers to pull out their blasters and open fire on the three. Those who didn’t have blasters rushed forwards with swords and blades. Despite the many angry and evil men running to kill him, Lance was grateful. Not all of the Galra were launching into a fight. About half of them were still trying to hack into the system. Of course, if they made it in, that would be a big problem, but he could worry about that later.

Keith immediately ran forward to meet the Galra with swords and blades, dodging blasts and bullets from those with guns. Lance stayed back, long-distance fighting being his strong suit. He shot at those with guns and some with knives if they got too close to his teammates. Pidge took on some of both as well. Her bayard was a whip-like weapon with a sharp blade at the end that could be used as a grappling hook or to slice through things when it wasn’t for long-distance fighting. If she willed it to, the blade-whip could pulse electricity and electrocute someone. Her small size allowed her to move swiftly and quickly, slip between the Galra’s legs, and electrocute them before they could harm her. She was steadily making her way towards the hackers.

Everything was going well. The number of Galra soldiers attacking Lance and Keith was decreasing slowly but surely. Pidge was fighting the last hacker. Some soldiers threw insults at Lance and commanded him to give up or surrender. If it weren’t for Keith reassuring him or the noise of swords clanging and blasters firing, Lance would have caved in or curled up in a ball to cry.

It was great until Lance heard a scream.

He whipped his head around to the source: Pidge. A blade-wielding soldier had stabbed her in the leg while she finished off the last of the hackers. He dragged his blade down the young girl’s thigh and pulled it away to let her bleed out. Pidge didn’t give the chance to inflict more damage before cutting his head clean off his shoulders. Even with the soldier dead, Lance was infuriated.

_ Protect Pidge, _ he thought.

Then everything went red.


	16. Chapter 16

Keith heard a scream. By the time he was able to take a glance to find out what happened, there was a headless body by the computers, a small figure that was heavily bleeding from the thigh, and a wolf savagely attacking Galra soldiers.

His eyes widened. A soldier had inflicted damage to Pidge, she screamed, Lance saw her in pain, and went feral. Keith almost felt sorry. The remaining Galra had to face the wrath of a feral omega whose pup they’d harmed. Most of the time, Keith knew Lance avoided killing as much as possible. But they had hurt Pidge more than just some scratches and bruises, and Lance wouldn’t hold back since he was feral. The omega was out for blood, and he wouldn’t stop until every last soldier was dead.

Feral omegas were more powerful and faster than most alphas. That was because they were protecting someone they loved, most often their pups. Since Lance considered Pidge as his, it wouldn’t go well for the intruders.

Speaking of which, the remaining Galra had all turned to face the omega. Keith panicked. Sure, Lance was stronger and feral now, but there were still too many soldiers for him to face alone.

“No, you don’t,” Keith grumbled as he chased after soldiers. He couldn’t let Lance fight them all by himself.

He cut through Galra after Galra. He dodged blows from the ones that knew he was there and fought back. With Lance being feral and Keith mostly attacking the unsuspecting, bodies covered the floor of the control room. As soon as the last soldier was dead, Lance had raced towards Pidge. He curled around her to heal her. Keith took it upon himself to contact the rest of the pack.

**_ Shiro? Hunk? _ **

**_ Keith! We heard the fighting stop. Are you all alright? _ ** Hunk replied.

**_ Yeah, where were you guys?! We had to fight them all off by ourselves! Pidge got stabbed, and Lance is healing her right now! _ **

**_ We’re sorry, Keith. We were escorting those who couldn’t fight to the safe room, but one of them panicked and got us locked in here. We won’t be able to get out until the alarms stop and the security system has reset. _ ** This time Shiro responded.

**_ Well, then you guys will have to wait a while. Lance is the only one who has access to the security system besides you and Coran, but Lance is still feral. And what happened to the Blades? _ **

**_ The Blade of Marmora are off on a mission. _ **

**_ Did you say Lance was feral? How bad is it? _ **

**_ They’re all dead. The Galra, I mean. _ **

No one responded when Keith sent the last mindlink.

He looked over to the younger boy and girl. Lance was glowing, a blue aura surrounding him and the beta. Pidge’s cries had died down, Lance’s healing making her sleepy. Just what he had expected to find.

He carefully approached the two. Lance had claimed Keith his alpha when he only trusted him at the beginning of his heat so he wouldn’t hurt him. But Lance was feral at the moment and could do anything. Keith wasn’t taking any chances.

The black-haired boy stopped when the younger tensed and stopped licking at his pup’s wound to make it close and heal even faster. When he made no move to attack, Keith  slowly advanced until he was next to him. He sat and held up his hands to show he had no weapons before reaching his hand out in hopes of calming the angry wolf. He let out a sigh of relief when Lance didn’t move and even seemed to relax a bit under his touch.

“Hey, buddy. I need you to calm down a little bit so we can let everyone out of the safe room.”

Keith couldn’t tell if Lance understood or even heard him. He just went back to licking Pidge’s wound. The alpha gathered the small female in his arms. He could tell by the low growl that the omega wasn’t very happy but continued leaving the room, Lance hurriedly following behind. He led the wolf to the med-bay and got blankets for him to make a nest for his pup and himself.

**_ Shiro, is there any way I can reset the security system? I don’t think Lance is going back to normal anytime soon. _ **

**_ No. I would tell you to use the code, but it would take a scan to see if you were permitted access. You were going to be the next and last person added. _ **

**_ So, _ ** **_ if Pidge gets better, she could do it? _ **

**_ Sure. Yeah, it should work. _ **

That was all Keith needed before he ran around to collect clothes from everybody’s room. A nest plus everyone’s scent would calm Lance enough to let Pidge walk and work on her own. Her leg was already mostly healed, thanks to the omega. She would be able to stand and move without too much support. He brought everything back, and Lance immediately began to build a makeshift nest to move Pidge to, although he did reject any clothes with scents of anything other than Keith and Pidge.

_ It’s working! _ Keith thought excitedly.

Lance was calmer soon enough. His pup had healed, and he was covered by the smell of her and his alpha. Pidge looked a little uncomfortable to Keith, having someone who had been so aggressive suddenly be so affectionate and caring curled around her. But they both knew that if she moved, the omega would immediately worsen and take it as a sign that she thought she was in danger.  So, she stayed still. Besides, she liked being protected and fussed over.

“Pidge, once Lance is calm enough, I need you to come with me. The others were trapped in the safe room, and they can only get out if the security is reset. I don’t have access yet, so I need you,” he explained.

The beta nodded. “I think it would help if you came in with us. Most omegas usually feel safe when their alpha is within reach. It might be enough for Lance to go back to normal.”

Keith hesitated. An alpha had hurt Pidge, in a room full of alphas, and Pidge was Lance’s pup. Would Lance let Keith enter the nest? He let him carry her to the med-bay, so maybe he would. But as much as their pups were everything to them, so was an omega’s nest. It wasn’t unheard of for an omega to attack their mate for entering the nest without at least asking. Keith wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn't enter. He was still an alpha, even if it was the one Lance trusted the most. With the state he was in, maybe Lance wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between him and the Galra and attack him.

But was there any harm in trying?

After contemplating for a bit, Keith turned into a wolf. Ears and tail low with his head slightly bowed, he crouched and inched forward. He halted just outside the wall of the nest, gazing at Lance with a question in his eyes. At first, Lance had narrowed his eyes, and his ears flattened aggressively against his head. The black-haired boy was about to give up until a certain female reached out of the nest to touch him.

Lance’s eyes visibly widened, probably thinking Keith would attack Pidge. But when the red paladin did not move, he seemed to relax a little. The omega even shuffled to the side a bit to make room for the larger wolf. Keith was glad he wouldn’t have to wait longer to give the person who trapped the rest of the team a piece of his mind. Though he watched him carefully, Lance didn’t object to Keith coming closer or even entering the nest.

The red paladin felt something brush against his neck as the younger boy readjusted himself around Pidge. He didn’t think much of it until the blue paladin completely froze. He stiffened when Lance sniffed and even gave an experimental lick to his scent glands, where he had felt the fur be disturbed. Scent glands were a very sensitive place, and Lance had just given it the equivalent to a kiss.

_Wh-what? Did h-he just_ _…?_

He turned to face the Cuban. He was excited and scooted closer to Keith, bringing his pup with him. Keith watched as the younger boy curled up against him, his nose placed right next to his scent glands. He didn’t move to give them another “kiss” and Keith relaxed. But he began to wonder. Why had Lance done that? It was something so intimate, only mates did it. He hadn’t done it during his heat, so why did he do it while he was supposed to be overly aggressive?

_Whatever. If it helps him calm down, then I guess it’s fine. He probably didn’t even mean to do it_ _,_ Keith thought.   
****

**_So… You and Lance, huh?_**

Being shaken out of his thoughts, he looked down to face Pidge. The little gremlin was smirking up at him and wiggling her eyebrows.   
****

**_What are you talking about?_**   
****

**_You hurt Mama Lance’s heart, I hurt you._**   
****

**_Hurt Lance’s hear— Hey! No_** ** _, bad Pidge! Lance and I aren’t together, you little kid!_**

The green paladin only giggled and snuggled herself under the floof of “Mama Lance’s” fur, getting a little nuzzle from the taller paladin in return. Keith rolled his eyes at her but mentally smiled. It was a good thing she was so young. They needed a little bit of childishness on the team, though Lance could easily provide that if prompted to.   
****

**_Keith, what’s taking so long?_**   
****

**_Sorry_** ** _, Shiro. We’re trying to get Lance calm enough to let Pidge leave his sight,_** Keith responded.   
****

**_I_** ** _t’s fine, Keith. It usually takes omegas a while to_** ** _calm down._**   
****

**_Hunk’s right. I’m sorry for asking._**   
****

**_It’s fine._** ** _It must be tiring having to take care of a group of scared people._**   
****

**_Well, it comes with being a paladin._**

Keith didn’t reply, not knowing what to say. He would have gone crazy if he was the one stuck with panicking people. He was glad all he had to do was calm down a feral omega. He was doing a good job as far as he could tell.

Just a little bit longer until he could set everyone free.


End file.
